Related Experiment Videos
The Effect of Visual Environmental Distraction on Gait Performance in Children
F Bizama1, A Medley2, E Trudelle-Jackson2
1a Children's Health System of Texas , Dallas , Texas , USA.
Insights
Visual distraction impacts children's gait, affecting velocity and stability, regardless of their walking experience. Physical therapists should consider attention when assessing and treating gait in children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Gait Analysis
- Developmental Motor Control
- Visual Attention and Motor Performance
Background:
- Gait development in children is a complex process influenced by various factors.
- Understanding how environmental stimuli affect gait is crucial for pediatric motor development research.
- Walking experience (WE) may modulate the impact of external factors on gait stability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of visual distraction on gait parameters in children.
- To determine the role of walking experience (WE) in mitigating the effects of visual distraction on gait.
- To provide insights for physical therapists in gait assessment and intervention.
Main Methods:
- Forty-two typically developing children were categorized into three groups based on walking experience (early, preschool, experienced).
- Gait parameters including velocity, step length, step width, and double limb support percentage (DLS%) were measured under conditions of no visual distraction and with visual distraction.
- Multivariate analysis of variance was employed to analyze differences in gait parameters.
Main Results:
- Visual distraction significantly affected gait performance across all children, irrespective of their walking experience.
- Gait velocity decreased significantly (from 110.04 to 97.73 cm/sec) under visual distraction.
- Double limb support percentage (DLS%) increased significantly (from 18.29% to 20.39%) during visual distraction, indicating reduced stability.
Conclusions:
- Visual distraction poses a challenge to gait stability and performance in children.
- Physical therapists must consider attentional demands when assessing children's gait.
- Interventions may need to directly address attention as a limiting factor in motor learning and performance.
Purpose:
Identify the effect of visual distraction on gait parameters in children and describe the role of walking experience (WE) in the management of visual distraction.
Methods:
Forty-two typically developing children, mean age 43.2 months (SD = 22.9) participated and were divided into three groups according to WE: early walkers (6-11 months of WE), preschool walkers (12-37 months of WE), and experienced walkers (38-79 months of WE). Gait parameters measured under two conditions (no visual distraction and with visual distraction) included: velocity, step length, step width, and double limb support percentage (DLS%) of gait cycle. Multivariate analysis of variance assessed differences in gait between groups (effect of WE) and within groups (effect of condition).
Results:
Significant main effects of WE group F(8,74) = 5.300, p ≤.001 and visual distraction condition F(4,36) = 2.586, p = 0.053 were found. Visual environmental distraction significantly affected gait performance in children regardless of walking experience. Velocity decreased from 110.04 to 97.73 cm/sec (p = 0.003) while DLS% of gait cycle increased from 18.29% to 20.39% (p = 0.025).
Conclusions:
Results suggest physical therapists need to consider attentional requirements when assessing gait; even in children with more WE. If attention to task is a limiting factor for performance or learning of a motor task, it may need to be addressed directly as part of the treatment plan.